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I’ve seen this one making the rounds for a few weeks now, but decided not to write it up until I was ready to reclaim my own upgrade. Folks are contacting Sprint employees on their website to get put into a queue to receive their last yearly fully-subsidized upgrade credit that was promised to them before they made the switch to a tiered system. Before, all customers who qualified were able to upgrade to new devices after just a year at the full-subsidized price. Now, you’ll have to pay a bit more to qualify for “gold status” and retain those benefits.
When the switch first happened, Sprint noted that those who were on silver and didn’t want to step up to a plan that would eventually qualify them for gold would not be able to get another upgrade at the fully-subsidized price. Many felt this was wrong as it’s blatant false advertising. I was a victim of this, as well, having been told that I would be able to upgrade to a new phone at a subsidized price in just a year when I bought the HTC EVO 4G last year.
Fortunately, Sprint’s willing to make things right at least for one more year. As I said above, you can contact a Sprint rep at their community, but that’ll get you tossed into a lengthy queue of folks who are looking for the same. You’ll likely get your final upgrade back, but there’s no telling how long it’ll take.
Instead, why not call Sprint? I did just that a few minutes before writing this post and have had my problem taken care of in less than 15 minutes. The customer service rep you initially speak to will tell you that you’re only eligible for a $75 credit toward the MSRP after a two-year contract, but you need to tell them that this is wrong and that you should be able to get one last full upgrade.
If they can’t seem to make that happen for you, simply ask them to forward you on to their supervisor who should get things taken care of for you. And if that doesn’t work, using the words “cancel my contract” may help as their customer retention department is hell bent on doing exactly what their name implies. While I hate using that tactic, it’s necessary to get things done when you can’t seem to get anywhere. Now, in about two hours, I’ll be able to buy whatever new phone I want at a subsidized cost and there was no queue to deal with other than the short wait time on the phone.
I should note that this will only work for folks who would’ve been eligible for another upgrade by June 2011 or for those who didn’t take advantage of an existing upgrade before the change occurred. Also note that this is your last yearly upgrade until you’re forced to wait for 22 months. That’s unless you jump up to a more expensive and qualify for premier gold, of course. Sprint’s customer service number is 888-211-4727. Head to the source link for more details about how to do it the forum way. [Android Police]
I emailed Sprint about this, the next day I got a call and they gave me full upgrade status without any questions. And, I only had my EVO 10 months! Starting next year, I will get yearly upgrades, due to 10 years of Sprint service. I advised two of my friends to email Sprint about their upgrades, Sprint gave them the yearly upgrade without question. Couldn’t be happier with Sprint service! :)
What address did you e-mail?
sprintcares @ sprint.com
Dan @ Sprint.com
Okay, I just did what you said. We’ll see what they say…I even added that I’ve actually been with them far longer than a year. I’ve been a Sprint customer since 1999, but on 2008 we had to leave Sprint because the area we moved to was a dead zone for Sprint. As of last year, Sprint did something and we are getting “ok” signal inside the house, even giving us an Airrave(?) that augments our calling capabilities while within range of its signal.
Will keep you guys posted…says might take for them a day to respond.
That sucks now you gotta start that 10 year gold premiere longevity award all over again.
If you are a Gold customer, you will continue to be able to upgrade every year at discounted price.
That is until Sprint comes up with another class of customers, Premier Platinum…
Or Dan Hesse’s Best bud clan plan.
I bought the Evo last year, and in Sprint’s site shows that I am qualified to upgrade at the subsidized price with $75 discount. However, this is only for the MAIN line only. I have a family plan, and the second Evo doesn’t qualify for this discount, nor the subsidized price. That really stinks…and I feel like I’m “cheating” on my wife by upgrading mine, but not hers. I wonder if there is a way around it, other than paying full price of course. Any thoughts, anyone?
It shows up that way for me on the Sprint site but I’ve went into the store and called them to make sure and they will override the account for me to allow me to get the full subsidized price for the Evo 3D when it comes out.
Edit: Of course I was an early adopter and bought the Evo when it first came out.
“Store”? You mean, Sprint store, right? Unfortunately I pre-ordered mine through Radioshack and they had me put down 2 $50 gift cards to start the pre-order; now they’re saying that I’m eligble for only one. Now, why didn’t they check that in the first place? Not everyone who would walk in that place would know what the correct “Terms and Agreeements” are. They offered me a $50 discount for the second Evo, from the full price. Yikes! Even with the trade-in of $100, that’s a whopping $349.99.
He was talking about for a single Evo. Sprint has never allowed you to get that discounted price on more than the main account holder’s phone after only one year.
It was always only for the primary line, nothing new there.
Not quite…I’ve had upgrades before on the line, and they (usually Radioshack or Best Buy) have given me the “subsidized” pricing before. I usually upgrade all lines, not just one.
I’m still out of luck, Sprint is only doing the upgrade if you would have been eligible for the yearly upgrade by June 2011, say you’ve gotten your EVO back in June 2010 when it first came out. Unfortunately, I got my EVO in September 2010.
I have tried calling and I spend over an hour on the phone. I got my EVO in Aug 2010. They wont give me yearly upgrade at the full discount. I have pretty much tired of having a contract. I am thinking about paying $120 ETF and wait for the Moto Triumph to launch and go with Virgin Mobile. Its still Sprint service, No contract no BS.
Youre a life saver! Thanks!
As soon as I saw that announcement in January… I knew I was going to threaten to leave if I find a phone I want.. .Because when I bought the EVO 4G and renewed my contract .. they made no mention of the fact.. until January .. I was already under contract and under the impression that I get a new phone every year.
Verizon let’s you upgrade every year even though it’s not their official policy. A friend of mine got the Droid X in march 2010 and its been total of 15 months and he can buy the Charge, Thundebolt or Revolution at the same price as a new contract. Ofcourse only on the Primary line and other lines or out of luck.
link??
Never seen this.
If you have Verizon you can either call customer service or log in through the site and its same price.
I can send verification thru an email. I just dont know how I can post a screen shot here or if I can upload to the post some how…
Umm, the droidX wasnt even out in March? And, their “official” policy, is all main lines on a family plan are eligable for ONE last annual upgrade.
Yes, I took care of this long before I placed down my preorder before May 8th. I am in Evo 3d mode now preparing my device and contact list as well as related applications that are currently on my Evo 4g for my new Evo 3d. This is a fun time and I can tell you now that I will be getting next years quadcore Evo without question but a subject for next July…..
Count down is on 11days to go
I thought if you had sprint for 10 years then you can still get the normal deal? am I wrong? I thought I read that on another site. if you’re willing upgrade or had sprint for 10 years you’re still part of the gold package.
I did what you said and WHAMMO! I have a full upgrade override for the EVO 3D. It helps to be a customer in good standing as well. They checked my payment history and couldn’t find anything to complain about. I’ll be first in line on the 24th! Good Luck to all.
Good for you…they still stand at giving me the full upgrade only for the main line. The second and third lines still get a discount at $75, but at full price for the phones.
I emailed the address that BenChase7 posted…we’ll see what happens.
Not sure if you know, but even before the Premier changes, only the main line on a family account was upgradeable at fully-subsidized prices after a year.
I see…but like I said, I was able to get away with it before. I guess there’s no harm in trying…I really want the upgrade. If not, I can see myself spending about $175 with discounts and taxes on the two phones.
I’m still waiting for what Sprint has to say on my email…I’ll keep you guys posted.
Didnt work for me… they wanted to give me a refurbished blackberry or lg rumor to replace my Epic 4g instead….. Is sprint smoking crack?
They told me that last week…to replace my Evo 4G. I told them “are you serious? Now if you have refurbished Evo 3D…” and I just LOL’d.
I just called and they had to put me on hold for about 7 mins but they fixed it all and I’m set up for my full upgrade and for the evo 3d.
I got my original Evo two days after it came out ( which was hard because everywhere was sold out) and paid full price so ive been way past overdue for an upgrade. I’m hella excited for this phone though. Might trade in my current evo @ radio shack for the $100 off.
I did this a few hours ago and it worked. I talked to three different people because two of them hanged up on me. I got mad and I told them what they did that they said they were going to help me. Over all they say they could do nothing but I reminded them that we have four lines and are willing to move to another network if they cant at least help me out. Just preordered the phone at Radioshack.
I CAN 100% VOUCH FOR THIS. I called this morning and requested an early upgrade. He put me on hold, and initially denied me, but when I asked to speak to the manager/supervisor/whatever, he got nervous and put me on hold again, then came back to tell me that he would give me the upgrade, and it’s already showing on my account =]
p.s., it’s so funny how sprint sends me notifications that “we love you.” lol
Worked perfectly for me – made a call in and they put a note on my account that I was due for an upgrade. However, it didn’t show up on an online check so the guy at Target had to call them (you get $150 off if you trade in an Evo 4G when you buy an Evo 3D at Target – total cost $50), but it wasn’t an issue.
I too was told by Sprint (Radio Shack) That in one year, I was elligible for a new phone. NOT TRUE>>>>> At the end of my contract(IF NOT BEFORE) SOOOOOO>>> LONG SPRINT !!!!!!
I’m seriously getting the run around from Sprint on this. Sprint is claiming they never had such a policy. And that “free doesn’t really mean free”. Anybody else like me who previously “qualified” but is now being scammed by Sprint?
I’ve been a Sprint customer since 1999 and just noticed I’m only a Silver member. I called and they submitted a form to fix this, but it wont be ready until August 9th. And I was told if by some chance my account isnt upgraded to Gold to submit some tier override request. I hate disclaimers on what to do if the right thing doesn’t happen but…how much is the discount on a new phone once I am a Gold (or an override) member? Right now my discount is $75. Is the upgrade discount double that or something? I can’t seem to find that answer anywhere. Thanks!